Billiard cue and replaceable cue tip assembly

ABSTRACT

A billiard cue having a ferrule secured to one end. The ferrule detachably receives a cue tip. In one embodiment, the ferrule is of aluminum and has a knurled stud at one end received in a bore in the end of the cue stick. The cue tip has a body of vulcanized fibrous material and a tip of leather. One end of the tip body has a tapered frustoconical portion frictionally fitting a bore in the ferrule. The other end of the tip body is bonded to the leather tip.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Anthony Merola Pittsburgh, Pa. [21] Appl. No. 725,450 [22] Filed Apr. 30, 1968 [45] Patented May 25, 1971 [73] Assignee Amerola Products Corporation Pittsburgh, Pa.

[54] BILLIARD CUE AND REPLACEABLE CUE TIP ASSEMBLY 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 273/70 [51] A63d 15/12 [50] Field of Search 273/70, 68

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l,532,985 4/l925 Bradley 273/70 2,464,850 3/ l949 Crawshaw 273/80.l 3,320,986 5/1967 Jeffery et al. 273/70UX 3,381,960 5/l968 Reinhart 273/70.

52,128 l/l866 Bevitt 985,067 2/ 191 1 Sacket... 1,013,671 l/l9l2 Masgai.. 1,340,395 5/1920 Leger 3,232,613 2/1966 Laube,Jr

FOREIGN PATENTS 6,442 1899 Great Britain... 119,503 4/1927 Switzerland Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Richard J. Apley Attorney-Parmelee, Utzler & Welsh tip body is bonded to the leather tip.

BILLIARI) CUE AND REPLACEABLE CUE TIP ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to billiard cues and more particularly to a billiard cue having an end fitting or ferrule on the end of the cue opposite the handle end thereof to which is secured a removable cue tip assembly.

2. Description of the Prior Art Generally, billiard cues have an end fitting or ferrule at the end opposite the handle end to which a cue tip is adhesively bonded. Such cue tips are generally made of leather and in time become worn and must be replaced. Also, because of the bonding method of securing the cue tip to the end of the billiard cue, they are at times broken free of the cue and lost and must be replaced before they are worn. In either event, replacement of the cue tip on a billiard cue is time consuming and expensive. Further, the ferrule on the end of a billiard cue is generally made of a plastic or a rubber like material and can warp or become easily damaged.

SUMMARY Briefly, the present invention is directed to a billiard cue having a ferrule of substantially rigid, unyielding material which is constructed and arranged to be easily secured to a billiard cue which has been previously prepared for the reception thereof. There is also provided by the present invention a cue tip assembly adapted to be removably secured to the ferrule such that it will not be easily dislodged from the ferrule, but in the event that replacement of the cue tip is needed, the cue tip assembly can be readily removed from the ferrule and a new cue tip assembly secured thereto.

The invention and the advantagesthereof will become apparent from the detailed description to follow. The preferred embodiments of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an exploded view in elevation of a billiard cue, a ferrule or end fitting and a cue tip assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of the ferrule and cue tip assembly shown in FIG. I but on a larger scale;

FIG. 3is an elevational view similar to FIG. 1 showing a modified form of billiard cue, ferrule or end fitting and cue tip assembly according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of the ferrule and cue tip assembly shown in FIG. 3 but on a larger scale.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, a billiard cue is shown generally at comprising an elongated stem 11 that is provided at one end with an enlarged handle portion 12 and at its other end with a cylindrical tenon 14. Telescopingly received on the tenon I4 is an end fitting or ferrule 16. The ferrule 16 is a unitary elongated body of substantially rigid material, preferably aluminum, having first and second sections 18 and 20, respectively. The first section 18 is of generally tubular construction defining an outer wall 22 integral and continuous with a wall 24 of the second section 20, an annular end 26 generally perpendicular to the outer wall 22 and an inner wall 28 parallel to the outer wall 22.

The wall 24 of the section defines an opening 30 extending inwardly from an entrance end 32 that terminates at the inner dividing wall 34 adjacent the section 18. Wall 34 has a central opening 34a therethrough to allow air to escape when the ferrule 16 is assembled on the tenon 14. The opening 30 in the second section 20 is of circular transverse cross section which tapers from a relatively large diameter adjacent the entrance end 32 to a relatively smaller diameter at the end of the section 20 adjacent the section 18, the slope of the wall defined by opening 30 being exaggerated for illustrative purposes. The section 20 of the ferrule 16 serves as a socket member for receiving a cue tip assembly shown generally at 36.

The cue tip assembly 36 comprises a body member 38 of a vulcanized fibrous material or other suitable material, and a relatively soft deformable cue tip 40 of leather or other suitable material.

The body member 38 comprises a substantially cylindrical portion 42 having a first end or planar surface 44 to which the cue tip 40 is unitarily secured or bonded by any suitable adhesive, and a frustoconical portion 46 integrally formed on the other end 50 of the portion 42 with the large diameter end of the frustoconical portion being adjacent to the other end 50 of the cylindrical portion 42.

By reason of this construction, when the cue tip 40 is to be replaced for any reason, the cue tip assembly 36 is simply pried out of the opening 30 and a new cue tip assembly inserted therein. The opening 30 and the frustoconical portion 46 are sized such that a positive friction fit is assured between the ferrule 16 and the portion 46, however, if desired, a suitable adhesive may also be employed to attach the cue tip assembly 30 to the ferrule 16. The ferrule portion 16 is normally permanently adhesively bonded to the tenon 1 14 by application of adhesive between the tenon and the tubular section 18, however, the section 18 may also be sized to frictionally engage the tenon 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a modified form of billiard cue is shown generally at 52 that has an opening 54 at the end opposite the handle 12 which extends inwardly and coaxially with the stem member 11. There is also shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 a modified form of ferrule for attachment to the end of the stern member 11 which is shown generally at 56. The ferrule 56 is a unitary elongated body of substantially rigid material, preferably aluminum, having first and second sections 58 and 60, respectively. The first section 58 is a stud 62 formed on end wall 64 of the second section or socket member 60. The stud 62 is adapted to be received in the opening 54 in the stem member 11 and it is provided with a knurled portion 66 intermediate its ends.

The socket 60 is similar in construction to the socket member 20 and is provided with an opening 68 for receiving a cue tip assembly 36 that is of the same construction as the cue tip assembly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The ferrule 56 is generally permanently secured in the opening 54 of the stem member 11 either by a friction fit or by the use of a suitable bonding adhesive, and when the cue tip 40 becomes worn or needs to be replaced for any reason, the cue tipassembly 36 is simply pried from the opening 68 of socket 60 and replaced with a new assembly.

While I have shown and described specific embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the contemplation of the invention and under the scope of the following claim.

lclaim:

1. In combination, a ferrule and replaceable cue tip assembly wherein the ferrule comprises a unitary elongated body of substantially rigid material,

said ferrule having first and second sections, said first section comprising a stud, means on said stud arranged to frictionally secure the ferrule to a correspondingly shaped bore in a billiard cue, said second section having a diameter greater than the stud, the diameter adapted to correspond to the outer surface of a billiard cue, the outer end of said second section defining a shoulder and a tapered bore,

said cue tip assembly having a body member and a cue tip secured to the body member, said body member comprising a substantially cylindrical portion having a first end to which the cue tip is secured, the cylindrical section having substantially the same diameter as the second section of the ferrule, and a frustoconical portion integrally formed on the other end of the cylindrical portion, thus providing a positive friction fit for the cue tip assembly into the tapered bore of said second section of the ferrule.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said means on said stud comprises a knurled portion thereof arranged to frictionally secure the ferrule to a correspondingly shaped bore in a billiard cue.

3. A combination as defined in claim ll wherein said body member of said cue tip assembly is of a vulcanized fibrous material and said cue tip is of leather.

4. In combination with a billiard cue, a ferrule and replaceable cue tip assembly wherein the ferrule comprises a unitary elongated body of substantially rigid material,

said ferrule having first and second sections, said first section comprising a stud, means on said stud to be frictionally secured to a correspondingly shaped bore in the billiard cue, said second section having a diameter greater than the stud and corresponding to the outer surface of the billiard cue, the outer end of said second section defining a shoulder and a tapered bore, said cue tip assembly having a body member and a cue tip secured to the body member, said body member comprising a substantially cylindrical portion having a first end to which the cue tip is secured, the cylindrical section having substantially the same diameter as the second section of the ferrule, and a frustoconical portion integrally formed on the other end of the cylindrical portion, thus providing a positive friction fit for the cue tip assembly into the tapered bore of said second section of the ferrule. 5. A combination as defined in claim 4 wherein the means on said stud to be frictionally secured to a correspondingly shaped bore in the billiard cue comprises a knurled portion intermediate the ends of said stud.

6. A combination as defined in claim 4 wherein said body member of the cue tip assembly is of a vulcanized fibrous material and said cue tip is of leather. 

1. In combination, a ferrule and replaceable cue tip assembly wherein the ferrule comprises a unitary elongated body of substantially rigid material, said ferrule having first and second sections, said first section comprising a stud, means on said stud arranged to frictionally secure the ferrule to a correspondingly shaped bore in a billiard cue, said second section having a diameter greater than the stud, the diameter adapted to correspond to the outer surface of a billiard cue, the outer end of said second section defining a shoulder and a tapered bore, said cue tip assembly having a body member and a cue tip secured to the body member, said body member comprising a substantially cylindrical portion having a first end to which the cue tip is secured, the cylindrical section having substantially the same diameter as the second section of the ferrule, and a frustoconical portion integrally formed on the other end of the cylindrical portion, thus providing a positive friction fit for the cue tip assembly into the tapered bore of said second section of the ferrule.
 2. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said means on said stud comprises a knurled portion thereof arranged to frictionally secure the ferrule to a correspondingly shaped bore in a billiard cue.
 3. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said body member of said cue tip assembly is of a vulcanized fibrous material and said cue tip is of leather.
 4. In combination with a billiard cue, a ferrule and replaceable cue tip assembly wherein the ferrule comprises a unitary elongated body of substantially rigid material, said ferrule having first and second sections, said first section comprising a stud, means on said stud to be frictionally secured to a correspondingly shaped bore in the billiard cue, said second section having a diameter greater than the stud and corresponding to the outer surface of the billiard cue, the outer end of said second section defining a shoulder and a tapered bore, said cue tip assembly having a body member and a cue tip secured to the body member, said body member comprising a substantially cylindrical portion having a first end to which the cue tip is secured, the cylindrical section having substantially the same diameter as the second section of the ferrule, and a frustoconical portion integrally formed on the other end of the cylindrical portion, thus providing a positive friction fit for the cue tip assembly into the tapered bore of said second section of the ferrule.
 5. A combination as defined in claim 4 wherein the means on said stud to be frictionally secured to a correspondingly shaped bore in the billiard cue comprises a knurled portion intermediate the ends of said stud.
 6. A combination as defined in claim 4 wherein said body member of the cue tip assembly is of a vulcanized fibrous material and said cue tip is of leather. 